Self-Proving Affidavit for Wills Requirements in Massachusetts

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Availability and governing law

General Laws chapter 190B, § 2-504 supplies two routes. A will may be executed, attested, and made self-proved in one ceremony under subsection (a), or an already-attested will may be made self-proved later under subsection (b).

The affidavit changes proof, not execution. Section 3-406 states its effect in a contested proceeding, while § 3-303 preserves an informal-probate route for an apparently proper will with no self-proving affidavit.

Who signs or swears

The testator and both witnesses participate. Section 2-504 describes the testator's act as an acknowledgment and the witnesses' statements as affidavits, but the forms direct all three to sign after being sworn. The certificate records the testator's subscription, oath, and acknowledgment and the witnesses' subscriptions and oaths.

When it may be made

Subsection (a) covers the execution ceremony. Subsection (b) permits an attested will to be made self-proved "at any time after its execution." It sets no fixed deadline, but the later form still requires the testator and both witnesses to participate. The text supplies no substitute for the testator's own later acknowledgment.

Officer, oath and seal

For simultaneous self-proof, the officer must be authorized to administer oaths under the law of the state where execution occurs. For later self-proof, authority comes from the state where the acknowledgment occurs. In both routes, the officer's certificate must be under official seal.

Required recitals and form

The forms need only be followed "substantially," but their required substance is specific. The testator declares willing signature or direction of another signer, execution as a free and voluntary act for the document's stated purposes, age 18 or older, sound mind, and freedom from constraint or undue influence. Each witness declares signing in the testator's presence and hearing and states the same age, mind, and influence facts to the best of the witness's knowledge.

Attachment to the will

For later self-proof, § 2-504(b) requires the officer's sealed certificate to be "attached or annexed to the will." Subsection (c) supplies a signature-spillover rule: if due execution needs proving, a signature on an attached self-proving affidavit is treated as a signature on the will.

Electronic, remote and out-of-state rules

Section 2-504 is written as an attached or annexed affidavit with an officer's certificate and seal; it supplies no electronic-record self-proof route. More decisively for remote signing, G.L. c. 222, § 28(c) says a notary public may not use communication technology to notarize "a will, codicil or document purporting to be a will or codicil."

The officer need not be commissioned in Massachusetts. Section 2-504 looks to the law of the state where execution occurs or where the later acknowledgment occurs.

Probate effect and exceptions

Massachusetts uses one rebuttable standard for all execution requirements. Under § 3-406(b), compliance with both the signature requirements and the other execution requirements is "presumed subject to rebuttal" without witness testimony when the will and its attached or annexed acknowledgment and affidavits are filed. Proof of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit defeats that treatment.

If there is no affidavit

In informal probate, § 3-303(c) admits a will "without further proof" if it appears to have the required signatures and contains an attestation clause showing that § 2-502's execution requirements were met. Otherwise, the magistrate may assume execution when the will appears properly executed.

If execution evidence is necessary in a contested case, § 3-406(a) requires the testimony of at least one attesting witness who is within Massachusetts, competent, and able to testify. The same subsection also allows due execution to be proved by other evidence.

What trips people up

The probate presumption is not conclusive

Section 3-406(b) makes all execution presumptions rebuttable. Self-proof removes the initial need for witness testimony, but the statute does not lock in the signature facts against contrary proof.

Massachusetts remote notarization does not cover wills

The general remote-notary system does not create a video-notary option for this affidavit. Section 222-28(c) expressly removes wills, codicils, and documents purporting to be either from notarization by communication technology.

Common questions

Can the affidavit be added after the will was signed?

Yes. Section 2-504(b) says an attested will may be made self-proved at any time after execution, but the testator and both witnesses still must complete the later sworn form before the authorized officer.

Can the officer be outside Massachusetts?

Yes. Section 2-504 uses an officer authorized under the law of the state where the execution or later acknowledgment occurs, with the officer's official seal.

Can an apparently proper will be admitted informally without self-proof?

Yes. Section 3-303(c) permits probate without further proof when the will appears to have the required signatures and contains a sufficient attestation clause.

Statutes and sources

• G.L. c. 190B, § 2-504 — simultaneous and later self-proof, statutory forms, officer authority and seal, attachment, and affidavit-signature spillover: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section2-504 (accessed 2026-08-01)
• G.L. c. 190B, § 3-303 — informal probate without further proof from a sufficient attestation clause: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section3-303 (accessed 2026-08-01)
• G.L. c. 190B, § 3-406 — contested-case proof, rebuttable execution presumptions, and fraud-or-forgery exception: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mass-general-laws-c190b-ss-3-406 (accessed 2026-08-01)
• G.L. c. 222, § 28 — remote-notarization framework and express exclusion for wills and codicils: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleI/Chapter222/Section28 (accessed 2026-08-01)